Gujarat · INDAH

Hold Cleaning at Dahej Port

Holds ready for the next fixture at Dahej Port — gas and chemical terminal windows in a hard-running tidal gulf.

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Tell us the vessel, the port and the window. Scoped reply, usually the same working day.

Cleanship Marine cleans cargo holds at Dahej Port (INDAH), Gujarat — shore gangs alongside, riding crews on the passage out, and IRATA rope access teams for the upper hold. The standard is the one the next fixture demands, and the residue and washings are disposed of to MARPOL Annex V rather than left with the master.

Dahej is Gujarat's principal LNG and liquid chemical gateway, with a solid cargo terminal alongside it serving the Bharuch industrial belt. Gas carriers and chemical tankers working to strict terminal windows dominate the traffic, so an underwater scope here is sized to the slot that exists, and anything that will not fit is staged for the next call.

Working conditions at Dahej

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it. The south-west monsoon sets the outer limits of the calendar, roughly June to September, and it affects the anchorage far more than the berth. Access approval runs through Gujarat Maritime Board and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards rather than found afterwards.

Where we work: LNG jetty · Liquid chemical terminal · Solid cargo berths
Vessels we see here: LNG carriers · Chemical and product tankers · Bulk carriers

Hold Cleaning scopes at Dahej

3 scopes, one team and one mobilisation. Most vessels calling here take more than one on the same attendance.

Planning the window at Dahej

The south-west monsoon governs the calendar at Dahej Port, roughly June to September. Swell and reduced surface visibility close most open-water work on this coast for the duration, and the weeks either side are unreliable rather than unusable. Turnaround here is quick and the berth will not be held open for cleaning, so the work is either sequenced hold by hold behind the discharge as each one empties, or handed to a riding crew to complete on the passage out. Waiting for all holds to be empty is waiting past the berth window.

Teams mobilise via Vadodara (BDQ) or Surat (STV), so give us the ETA as early as you have it — the travel is the flexible part, the approvals and the working window are not.

What we typically find at Dahej

The solid cargo side of Dahej runs coal and fertiliser through the same holds as steel and project cargo, and that sequence is the awkward one. Coal dust and fertiliser residue both have to come out completely before a clean cargo, while dunnage and lashing waste from project cargo is a different job needing different people.

Dahej Port runs lng, liquid chemicals and coal through the same holds, and that sequence is where the money is lost: mineral fines and dust from one fixture will fail an inspection for the next if the holds are only swept. The standard that matters is the one the next cargo demands, not the one the last one left.

How we deliver it at Dahej

1
Scope and vessel details
Tell us the vessel, her particulars, the last and next cargo and the window at Dahej. We come back with a defined scope, a crew size and a duration we will stand behind. Where the conditions here will not support what has been asked for, we say so at this stage rather than after mobilisation.
2
Approvals and waste routing
Access and working approval is arranged with Gujarat Maritime Board and the terminal, and the disposal route for residues and washings is fixed before the gang boards — MARPOL Annex V compliance is a documented chain at Dahej, not an assurance. Where reception is limited, the plan changes rather than the paperwork.
3
Mobilisation to Dahej
Gangs, pumps, chemicals and equipment mobilise via Vadodara (BDQ) or Surat (STV). Where a vessel is also calling at Hazira, one mobilisation is normally sized to cover both.
4
Entry, sequencing and the work
Enclosed-space entry runs to the vessel's own permit system, with a fresh gas test before every entry and after every break. Gas testing, standby cover and continuous supervision run throughout, and progress is reported hold by hold rather than only at the end.
5
Report and handover
A completion report covering hold cleaning is issued with before-and-after imagery, hold by hold and anything found that you should know about. The findings are discussed with the vessel rather than emailed and forgotten.

Dahej Port at a glance

UN/LOCODE: INDAH
Port type: State Port
State: Gujarat
Country: India
Water body: Gulf of Khambhat
Port authority: Gujarat Maritime Board
Main cargoes: LNG, Liquid chemicals, Coal, Fertiliser, Steel and project cargo
Crew mobilisation: Vadodara (BDQ) / Surat (STV)
Services here: Hull Cleaning, Hold Cleaning and Tank Cleaning

Frequently asked — Dahej Port

Does Cleanship provide hold cleaning at Dahej Port?

Yes. We cover the full hold cleaning scope at Dahej Port (INDAH), Gujarat — cargo hold cleaning (shore gang), hold cleaning riding crew and rope access hold cleaning. Teams mobilise via Vadodara (BDQ) or Surat (STV).

Where is the work done at Dahej — alongside, at anchorage or on passage?

Work here starts alongside, and where the berth window runs out it continues on the outward passage with a riding crew — the berth will not be held open for it.

Who approves hold cleaning work at Dahej?

Gujarat Maritime Board issues the port-side approval at Dahej Port, with terminal approval on top where the berth requires it. We arrange both, along with the waste reception and disposal route, so it does not fall to the agent or the master.

Which vessels call at Dahej?

LNG carriers, Chemical and product tankers, Bulk carriers — Dahej Port is gas and chemical terminal windows in a hard-running tidal gulf, handling lng, liquid chemicals, coal, fertiliser, steel and project cargo. Those are the profiles we see most, and the scope is sized to the vessel rather than to a standard package.

Can this be done without taking the vessel off hire at Dahej?

Yes — that is the point of it. Every scope listed here is carried out with the vessel afloat and working, at the berth, at the anchorage or on the passage out. Shore gangs work alongside or at anchorage and riding crews finish on the passage, so no port time is spent on cleaning and the vessel is never off hire.

Do you cover other ports near Dahej?

Yes. Hazira, Magdalla and Bhavnagar all sit within the same operating range for hold cleaning, and a single mobilisation is often sized to cover more than one vessel on the same trip. We work 45 ports on the coverage list for this line.

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